Our last segment of cruising in South Carolina includes the passage through the infamous Rock Pile, a several mile long part of the Intracoastal that was constructed through an area of natural stone. Because it was only blasted and excavated to meet the minimum width and depth requirements, traversing this segment during high tidal flows and/or meeting an oncoming vessel can make for a risky experience.
This exposed rock in the channel gives you an idea of what might be just below the surface!
We enter North Carolina as the Intracoastal turns back to the sea and runs inside the barrier islands. Our first stop is at Holden Beach where our dock on the Intracoastal is only a few hundred feet from the beaches on the Atlantic Ocean. Hmmmmmm, time for a long walk on the beach. Of course as we arrive it turns out this time is part of North Carolina's spring break too so there's plenty of "action".
Moving on we're now a little preoccupied with a pesky leak on the starboard motor (but that's another story) and make our way to Southport. With a rental car and provisions running low we stock up and make a ferry trip over to Carolina Beach to visit and check out the tanks at the NC Aquarium.
Hey I used to know what these were!
Downtown Holden Beach still has signs of Hurricane Matthew.
